If you’re living in California, you know that environmental mandates have become a way of life.

It seems that every year we’re inundated with a fresh set of goals aimed at reducing greehouse gas emissions and making cars, buildings and industrial operations less damaging to our health and the environment.

Few would argue that most of these measures are well intentioned because no one wants to live in a world with dirty air.

But all of these mandates and environmental proposals come with a price, whether it’s a financial cost — or a loss of jobs. A new statewide survey from the California Business Roundtable shows that voters are split on how far we should go to achieve those goals.

The poll, conducted by MFour Mobile Research, shows that 50 percent of California voters totally disapprove of the way the state Legislature is handling environmental issues in California.

The survey also touches on Senate Bill 350, an increasingly controversial measure that if approved would require petroleum use in cars to be cut 50 percent by 2030. It would likewise require that 50 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2030 and it would require that existing buildings double their energy efficiency by 2030.

When you take a step back and look at those goals, that’s a pretty tall order.

After reading a series of statements by people who support or oppose the measure, 48 percent of the survey respondents said they would totally oppose SB 350, while 44 percent indicated total support.

I spoke last month with Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, and she offered up some statistics that make SB 350’s goals seem virtually unobtainable. Now granted, she works for an organization that represents companies involved in petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in six western states, so her views are going to be somewhat biased. But here’s what she had to say:

“When you think about a 50 percent reduction you’ve got California motorists who use 40 million gallons of gas and 7.5 million gallons of diesel fuel every day,” she said. “So if you cut that in half what do you replace it with? There is hope that more alternate fuels and electric and hydrogen vehicles will be used. But there are 26 million vehicles in California that drive 38 million people 185 billion miles every year, and 92 percent of those vehicles run on petroleum. The Department of Transportation expects that will be 48 million people by 2040. How do you take that much gas and diesel and cut it in half — and with a growing population?”

Those numbers are something to think about. And the state Legislature has to realize that it would require more than a sea change to meet SB 350’s goals.

And here’s an addendum: There currently 120,000 electric vehicles in use in California, Reheis-Boyd said, but 13 million would needed to reduce California’s gas and diesel production by 50 percent.

That would be a major leap in electric cars.

So I guess I’ll just climb on my Specialized Tarmac Pro road bike. It doesn’t pollute —and it’s a heck of a lot more fun to drive.

Kevin Smith handles business news and editing for the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 newspapers, websites and social media channels. He covers everything from employment, technology and housing to retail, corporate mergers and business-based apps. Kevin often writes stories that highlight the local impact of trends occurring nationwide. And the focus is always to shed light on why those issues matter to readers in Southern California.

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